Al-Rajhi Takes Dakar Rally Lead as Lategan Suffers Setback

Yazeed Al-Rajhi has taken the overall lead in the Dakar Rally after Henk Lategan suffered two punctures in stage nine.

Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi has taken the overall lead in the Dakar Rally for the first time this year, finishing third in stage nine on Tuesday. Al-Rajhi, driving for the Toyota Overdrive Racing team, assumed the lead after Henk Lategan suffered two punctures, finishing 11th in the stage. Al-Rajhi trails Nasser Al-Attiyah, the five-time Dakar winner from Qatar, by just over three minutes in the stage results.

Lategan, who had held the overall lead since stage two, saw his advantage whittled down to 21 seconds after Sunday's stage. However, a win on Monday had pushed his lead back out to five minutes and 41 seconds. Nevertheless, Al-Rajhi's strong performance and Lategan's difficult day have propelled the Saudi driver into the overall lead, with a seven-minute and nine-second advantage over Lategan.

Lategan described his day as “a bit of a disaster,” saying, “It's a bit of disaster, to be honest. It was really a mess, about 13km in and we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it.” He also lamented the two punctures his team suffered, stating, “It wasn't great and when we got lost we got one puncture and then towards the end, we got another one and the wheel is actually flat.” Despite the setbacks, Lategan remains optimistic, saying, “So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it's not the end of the world, we're still in it. But it's a bit of a disappointing day.”

Guy Botterill's Dakar Rally campaign came to an abrupt end on Tuesday after the South African rider was involved in an accident 272 kilometers into the stage. Botterill had been in contention for a stage win on Monday, ultimately finishing second behind fellow South African Henk Lategan.

Argentina's Luciano Benavides continued his impressive form in the motorcycle category, securing his second consecutive stage win. French rider Adrien Van Beveren finished second for the second day in a row, while overall leader Daniel Sanders claimed third place, further extending his lead at the top of the standings.

Let's hear from Nasser Al Attiyah, Yazeed Al Rajhi and Tosha Schareina in our interviews of the day presented by @aramco 👍

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— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2025

Daniel Sanders, the Australian overall leader, gained significant ground on his closest rival, Tosha Schareina, after the Spaniard finished seventh in the stage. Sanders now holds a substantial lead of 14 minutes and 45 seconds. The Dakar Rally will continue on Wednesday with stage 10, which will take the competitors from Haradh to Shubaytah.